


error in replication

by Cubell



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28739430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cubell/pseuds/Cubell
Summary: Harry's life had never been a happy one.The last thing he wanted was to do it all again, suffer through more when the afterlife was just in reach. The afterlife, where he could meet Sirius and Remus again, see his parents and have it last.Still, when the god asks him if he wants to be reborn, he gives a short jerky nod and  his vision goes black.––Precursor to a time travel fic.
Kudos: 3





	error in replication

**Author's Note:**

> Precursor to a time travel fic.
> 
> Proper tags will be added if the story continues.

Harry's life had never been a happy one.

The last thing he wanted was to do it all again, suffer through more when the afterlife was just in reach. The afterlife, where he could meet Sirius and Remus again, see his parents and have it _last_.

So even as he feels the shame grow inside of him, he refuses when he is offered the chance to relive his life. No matter how much he might be able to change this time around, no matter how many lives he might be able to save if he did everything again, he couldn't take it. No more. He knows that if he were to place more pressure on his mind and suffer through even more, his mind would break; shatter into pieces too small to ever be salvaged again.

Wearily, Harry closes his eyes and waits to be sent beyond. What will the afterlife be like? He imagines forests and gardens, beautiful scenery that will last forever, untarnished by the human hand. Everyone he once knew and everyone he loved, able to live without fear for the first time in their lives.

But when he opens his eyes, nothing has changed. Before his eyes is the same nothingness that surrounds him, the same God that now has a smirk playing on his lips. He will not be allowed into the afterlife yet. 

"I don't think you've quite grasped what I'm trying to tell you," he hears. What is there to misunderstand? This god, for some reason, wants him to relive his life. And he will not. 

Suddenly a realization strikes him. He has no choice in this matter. He can be toyed with as this being pleases, used despite his opinion on the matter. Just as he begins to hyperventilate at the thought, he's broken out of his thoughts by a hefty sigh from the god.

"You won't be reliving your life."

He blinks. 

"I believe you've heard the theory on alternate universes?" And then everything clicks into place. An alternate universe. He will be sent to an alternate universe. An alternate universe could be even worse than reliving his life. No, no, no. He can't.

Yet, everything begins to morph around him, and his eyes widen in terror as he realizes what must be happening. As his mind begins to shut down and the burn of tears swells behind his eyes, he drops to his knees. He pauses for a moment as he realizes he is now kneeling on plush carpet. The god has not sent him ahead yet.

Scrubbing for a moment at the tears that had begun to gather in his eyes, he looks around to realize that he's in a room. Bookshelves line the wall to his left, and he sees a fireplace and two plush-looking chairs seated across each other. Between them lies a table with a teapot set on the surface. Two matching teacups complete the set, one of which is held by the man sitting on the sofa chair furthest from him.

"Sit," they say. With no other option and no reason not to obey, he sits. With shaking hands, he pours himself tea and takes comfort in the heat of the cup.

"I will not send you if you are not willing to," is the next thing he hears. As he opens his mouth to tell the man that no, then he will not go, he is cut off by a statement that changes everything.

"But you might be interested in knowing that your parents are alive in this universe." A life with his parents, he realizes. He's being offered a life with his parents. 

His voice trembles as he asks the next question. "And Sirius and Remus?" He gets a nod in response.

And the only thing he can do now is listen, enraptured by everything the god is telling him. He listens carefully and memorizes every detail as he is told why he is being sent there. He listens as the god describes this new world and what role he will have in it. When the god asks him if he wants to live again, he gives a short jerky nod and his vision goes black.


End file.
